According to CNN, on Friday night, June 11, 2021, a Delta Air Lines steward, who was off-duty at the time, seized an intercom on an Atlanta-bound flight. According to one eyewitness to the incident, the troublemaker snuck into the communications system at the front of the plane and made an announcement, telling all travelers to take their seats and be ready to put on oxygen masks. He then attempted to open the door. To ensure the necessary safety, the captain asked all "strong adult males", men without disabilities to come to the front of the aircraft and help to calm an erratic, noisy passenger.
As the Independent specifies, the plane was diverted to the nearest airport -- it made an emergency landing in the south-central United States in Oklahoma City. A Delta Air Lines spokesman thanked the crew and passengers of Delta Flight 1730, who helped detain the unruly passenger during the flight.
It is unknown what caused the man's inappropriate behavior. There is an assumption that he was just nervous or decided to make a joke.
Flight details
According to a Delta Air Lines spokesman, the rowdy passenger was an off-duty flight attendant. Other passengers in the aircraft reported that the guy quickly took possession of the public address mode, leading to an in-flight struggle. No passengers or crew members were injured.
Immediately after the plane landed in Oklahoma City, the rambunctious man was detained by police and taken into custody. The passenger was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Due to the reasons for the emergency landing, the entire plane was subject to an explosives check. Therefore, all passengers had to leave the aircraft to be thoroughly checked and cleaned.
According to FlightAware, the plane was delayed in Oklahoma for more than three hours and did not reach Atlanta until 5 a.m. Saturday, June 12, 2021.
Some passengers later described the rebel as extremely unstable and very strange in his pattern of behavior. Eyewitnesses said that the man was dressed very unconventionally -- he was wearing a helmet and elbow and knee pads.
A passenger sitting directly with the strange man noted that he "felt very uncomfortable with this guy." The man asked him a lot of personal questions. For example, he asked him his name and how to spell it. After that, the rowdy passenger wrote an announcement to the stewardess accusing his next-door neighbor of hijacking the aircraft.
Someone tried hijacking our plane from LAX to ATL pic.twitter.com/fkPDPR60hu
— AB (@alifuckingburns) June 12, 2021Disappointing data
According to FAA spokeswoman Maria Njoku, the FAA received about 2,900 reports of unruly passenger behavior during those five months. About 2,200 of those announcements concerned passengers who ignored to comply with the national requirement to wear protective masks.
FAA inspections have resulted in 446 cases of potential violations, with 42 people being subjected to lawful actions. It raises crucial questions about the need for revision and greater awareness concerning people's mental health disorders, not least because of the extensive quarantine and pandemic situation.
